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A nearly-perfect turn based galactic conquest game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: May 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by getting the three downsides of this game out of the way.

First, the learning curve is steep. If you aren't very familiar with games of this genre (or at least other turn-based games like Civilization) you will be completely lost for a long time. Younger players who didn't grow up with this genre may not be willing to spend the time to learn their way around.

Second, when you play the larger games, you start to need to do either a lot of micro-managing or sacrificing a lot of resources you could otherwise have. Some simple things, like a setting to have newly-produced ships leave a planet and go to a rally point rather than filling a starport and stopping further production would help a lot.

Third, there is no multiplayer at all. This is really sad because this game would be spectacular as a multi-player game. Stardock has made all kinds of bizarre excuses for why they didn't do this.

There are a few other minor nits. For example, the GUI has some odd quirks. It's difficult to get from the planetary management screen to a space view centered on that planet. Sometimes shortcuts that really should be there just aren't.

Now that that's out of the way, this is a *great* game. If you liked Reach for the Stars, MOO, Homeworld, or any of those games, you will definitely love this game. If you liked games like Civilization or other turn-based conquest games, you will almost definitely love this game.

The AI is completely solid. The computer players behave in ways that make sense. The universe has rules that make sense.

The game looks spectacular. The music and sound complement the gameplay very well.

You get the feeling when you play this game that this is the experience all the other games were trying to give you.

With luck, we'll see multi-player and fixes for some of the UI nits in an expansion pack or update. This game is actively being maintained and expansions and updates come out regularly.

Solid Turn Based Space Game, move over MOO!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: May 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Galactic Civilizations II is a solid game in its own right and worthy of any space empire building fans. Similar to the Master of Orion, Stars! or Imperium Galactiac series this one stands on it's own.

Thankfully, a few turn based games still exist today and this one while not quite as good as Civiization IV, is worthy of quite a bit of your playing time. I was able to jump right into the action without a tutorial and only a few minutes of thumbing through the manual.

Game mechanics are quite simple and you can easily get engrossed for hours at a time. The developers have streamlined planet upgrades to make building as simple as a few clicks and once you achieve newer technology, they auto magically upgrade the buildings for you.

I liked the additional options on planetary conquest that start to appear as you gain technology, like orbital bombardment and shock troops. Each of which can give your troops a greater chance of success at the risk of weakening the planet's inhabitability or structures.

A few of my complaints would include the location of the minimap in proximity to the "end turn" button as I've hit tried to click on the minimap edge, only to find I had submitted my turn and the Ship Designer. Don't get me wrong, the designer is extremely flexible and it allows for some pretty nifty customization, however after having played Stars! I found the UI a bit clunky. I also didn't see that I would ever spend the time using the extra 'fluff' components to change the looks of my ships as the editor doesn't retain any components as you upgrade to the next version of the ship. This to me would be more frustrating than the added value.

Those aside, I'm glad that I purchased this product and will surely get a few more long nights worth of entertainment out of it. It is nice to see that fresh ideas, turn based games and small publishers actually can put out a quality product.

Hopefully more games like this will pop up in the future!

Improved and Still Very Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: February 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Galactic Civilizations 2 improves upon the original game without changing what made the first version very fun. In a similar way that updated versions of "Civilization" kept on adding a few more improvements on an already great concept. Battles logistics are refined as well as planet management. You have more control, as each planet now have unique characteristics. The graphics and sound are much better, as expected. There are a few small bugs that I expect will be fixed with an upcoming patch, but overall it's very playable out of the box. If you are finally getting out of CIV 4 recovery and your spouse or significant other will not groan at you too loud for getting this, enjoy this game.

Hands-down, the BEST space strategy game so far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: February 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Considering the mediocre performance of the first Galactic Civilizations game, I was wary to purchase this game from the store. The only reason why I purchased this game is because I really enjoy turn-based civilization-type strategy games. I was really impressed with MOO 2 that was launched a decade ago (I thought that game was the best space strategy game ever) and wanted a more up-to-date version of MOO 2. GalCiv 2 certainly meets that requirement and much more!

One of the best things about GalCiv 2 is the level of playing depth. This game is not for some kid who has nothing better to do on some weekend night. This game is really for adults who want to be the master planner of their own private star empire. The interface is pretty good and easy to handle and the gameplay is generally smooth (however, I would highly recommend really fast CPU computers for this game). I also liked the way the computer can help you along the way if you're only a beginner trying to get a handle of things.

One of the other good features is that the game allows for HIGHLY various possible scenarios to be played out. For instance, one can choose various sizes of the galaxy, amount of planets, levels of difficulty, and alien races (you can have 1 to 9 opponents, contrary to most standard conquer games that only allow a maximum of 6). The 10 different alien races are very different from each other making the galaxy very interesting place to play. They all have their own tendencies and alignments. This means you have to choose your allies wisely or you will get burned in the process.

Another thing that gamers will love about this game is the ship design feature. You're allowed almost infinite design types to the satisfaction of your own imagination. You can even create ships that almost match the ship designs of your favourite sci-fi TV shows. One can even spend hours just deciding how one can creatively design a troop transport or a mothership (you will know what I mean when you enter the ship design feature).

Another thing that gamers will find relief in is the level of the graphics and music. The graphics in this game are quite stunning. Especially if you use the zoom in and zoom out features on the starmap. One can even see the details on each of the planet (no joke, if you zoom in on Earth you can even see the various continents in their exact detail, which is amazing). Also, the background music is really nice and not distracting. The music changes depending on the situation you're in. Thus, if you're in a war situation, the music will carry a more tense and militaristic tone.

Finally, the game time can be varied just as the game features. Some games can take a couple of hours, while some games can take a couple of weeks. It all depends on how you set up your galaxy and which alien race you decide to play (in the first GalCiv you could only play the Terrans, in this game you can choose any of the other races and even make your own). One will notice that playing the Terrans or Torians will take shorter times and will be easier (since they can make allies more easily) than playing the Yor or Drengin (since they are the most despised in the galaxy). It all depends on you on how you choose to play the game.

Overall, I would highly recommend this game. Though MOO 2 was a very good strategy game for its time, GalCiv 2 totally overshadows MOO 2 in terms of quality, fun, options, and depth. You will never regret purchasing GalCiv 2 if you're a space strategy game fan who wants to create his or her own empire in the stars.

Excellent Turn-Based Space Strategy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: March 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was a big fan of Masters of Orion 2. I can't even remember how many hours I spent playing it (We won't talk about MOO3 *cough*). There really hasn't been a good space turn-based strategy game since, until now. Galactic Civilization I was simple and fun. They took the sequel and upgraded it in a lot of ways while still retaining the fun factor and even reducing how much micromanagment you have to do and adding customization. Each game is highly customizable so you can play the exact game you wish in the Galaxy of your choosing.

Some of the more noteworthy features over the original include; Ability to watch Fleet battles, Planet construction has changed making planet class more important, Customization of your ships, Improved AI and Graphics.

The tutorials cover practically everything you ever wanted to know about playing Galactic Civilizations 2: Dread Lords. The sound and music was very good with the exception of one music track which got too high pitched and irritating.

Bottomline, If you liked Masters of Orion 2 then you will love this game or into Space Turn-Based Strategy games.

Pros:
- Good Graphics
- Great Tutorial
- Very Fun
- Easy to get updates via Stardock

Cons:
- A few minor bugs and glitches (Like one that displays improper size of components when constructing ships)

Excellent Game and Excellent Company

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: May 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Since others have already reviewed the features I'll just say that Stardock, the creator of this game, is one of the nicest companies I've ever dealt with. Unlike many large companies with far more resources, they actually care about their customers and improve their games well after release.

They value player-feedback and over time add updates to improve the AI, increase playability and even respond to what players really want. To top it off you don't even need to use the cd-rom anymore after you install the game on your hard drive, this is very nice and shows they care about the user's experience.

These are just some things to take into consideration. Most games, once released, don't get significantly better over time. With this game new updates are constantly released improving it, so if you buy the game now be assured it will only get better and more challenging in the future. Oh, and this is probably the best space strategy game made in the past 5 years. There may not be as much immediate excitement as in a game like Doom III however, you actually have to use your head and think.

Buggy and Incomplete -- 3 Stars

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 25
Date: March 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am editing this review after submission, and after more time with the game. I have lowered my rating to 3 stars.

This is a turn-based strategy game with multiple paths to victory -- economic, military and diplomacy -- and strongly reminsicent of Masters of Orion. Regardless of the path you choose, you have to juggle the others, giving it a strategy richness. Good graphics, ship customization and good control over planetary development and fleets give it infinite replayability. Other reviews have covered its positive aspects in full, so I will focus on some of the drawbacks.

The first is that the manual is inadequate. Presumably they hope to sell us an additional strategy guide. I think that's unethical. Package them together and sell them for the real price, don't sell a piece of software that doesn't have a manual adequate for its use.

You have to register online and only once registered can you get patches. I don't see why I should have to give out my personal information in order to use a product I purchased in a store. It's like RadioShack, where they want your life story before they will sell you batteries.

And you do need patches. It's more than a little buggy. About half my games crash to desktop, and this is after installing the patch. Some screens on the interface don't scroll properly, making the information on them inaccessible.

There is very poor reporting on the economy, making it almost impossible to determine what you are spending on so that you can adjust it. Since failure to keep expenditures in line can tank your game, this is a fairly major oversight.

Oddly, there is no option for playing a game with randomly selected options. This means that you have to set all aspects of the universe, including choosing your opponents and setting their intelligence level. This takes away an important aspect of gameplay (strategic adaptation and discovery) and it would have been ridicuously easy to implement.

As another user has noted, the tech tree is not very accessible in game . . . see previous comment about inadequate manual.

Finally, apparently all the humanoids who run the universe are male. Apparently the game takes place in a future where a terrible plague has killed all the females.

Good for those with a god-complex

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 15 / 23
Date: June 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I will not dispute any of what the above reviews claim; this game is indeed one of the most flexible I have ever seen. It requires a shocking amount of wit, and plenty of attention to details.

Basically, this game is a little too complicated for my liking. It's kind of like Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator. It's great for those who really want to get involved in the game and have a realistic experiene, but not so much for those who want to kick back and have a fun time.

The game makes you a true World Leader. You must oversee approval ratings, the exact amount of funding in your branches, your control in the Senate, how you deal with your allies... any small move may cause a terminal downfall. Everything is up to you. Even the default races can be completely altered to better suit your style.

That being said, it's a little much for the average gamer. If you love being in total control of everything regarding your game, I highly suggest this. However, if you're a bit of a weekend-warrior and are just looking for an easy to learn, easy to play game, this probably isn't the best for you.

Good game, but horrible registration and tech support

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 19
Date: March 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a pretty good game, and am improvement over the original, but man oh man have they got some issues with their registration system and tech support. To download updates to the game, you have to register on their site, which I tried to do -- you sign up and they send you an e-mail with a link to activate your account. Problem is, my e-mail never arrived (and no, it didn't get trapped by a spam filter). I tried to re-create the account, but I guess they don't have any code in place on the webpage to check to see if the account already exists, and it failed with a hard ASP.NET error. I clicked on the link to have them re-send my password, hoping the page would be intelligent enough to know that I still needed my activation link. THIS e-mail I DID receive -- but not only did it not include the activation link, but the e-mail itself consisted of black text over a dark picture of space -- the text was practically invisible until highlighted.

It gets better: I received FIVE automated responses from their help system for the ONE e-mail I sent them about the problems I had, and all five have different ticket numbers. When I click on the link provided to view the status of my issue, I log in and am taken to a blank page. Great. By cutting off the end of the URL and going to the root, I'm able to view my ticket, which has still not been worked on -- they tell you it could take UP TO two business days for a response, but it's been that long and I haven't heard anything from them yet (unless you count the five automated responses).

On top of it all, I had a hard time just getting the game to install -- turns out that their installer doesn't like ZoneAlarm. If ZoneAlarm is running, the installer will appear to hang (I think it IS running, just very slowly). I could get the installer to kick in by DISABLING ZoneAlarm, but I didn't want to have my firewall down, so a workaround was to copy both CDs directly to my hard drive and install from there, which still took a long time (again, it doesn't seem to like ZoneAlarm), but eventually completed. I've installed plenty of software with ZoneAlarm running, and this is the only app (along with the original Galactic Civilizations) that takes issue with it. No message is displayed, no ZoneAlarm warning -- the installer just drags.

If there are two good things I can say, they are that the game is good, and you don't need the CD in the drive to play the game. Also, they allow you to install the app on another PC as long as you are the primary user, and they allow you to make a backup for archival purposes. All of which is very cool. But they really need to get their registration and support act together. I am a programmer and am technically capable with PCs, and this is the most frustration I've had with any app in recent memory.

Great Strategy Game...But what about actical combat?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: June 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've read all the reivews and I would add more of the same for the most part. It's a great strategy game along the lines of Civilization and MOO2. Very addictive and with an deviously intelligent AI. I've thoroughly enjoyed playing it so far.

However, what about tactical combat? There's no reason a game of this caliber couldn't have a tactical combat model that was simple and enjoyable, yet still have the option to auto resolve. In particular I think the psuedo turn based model of Birth of the Federation would have done wonders if worked into this game (As far as tactical combat goes in turn based games, I think they got it right).

Along those lines, I think that the ship/weapon design could have used alot more depth and have had more of an effect on combat. In this model I am thinking of a long dead game, Pax Imperia 2. GalCiv2 has an oversimplified version of ship design and weapons - simply damage and resistance numbers. What about weapon ranges? You can't tell me that the best beam weapon out there has the same damage to range drop off as the very first laser. What's the point of developing missles or mass drivers when all ranges are the same in combat and you can't employ stand off tactics?

Bottom line... really good game, but add a good tactical combat system (not MOO2 - too tedious) and more depth to the ship components and weapons and you would have a truly outstanding game.

- Hyth

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